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c. 0. SH'ERVEY. TRUNK LOCKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY l7. I919.

1,325,806. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

cnaunns o. snnnvnr, or enreaeo, rrtlnors, assre non o J. v. nnrnnrne recur: 'comranr, or cnrcaeo, ILLINOIS, a conrona'rron or ILLINOIS.

Specification of teens Patent.

TRUNK-LOCKING iuncnanrsiu.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed. July 17,1919. $er1a11l'o. 311,456.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, CHARLES O. Sir-mnvnr, a citizen of the Unlted States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Tllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunk-Locking Mechanism, of which the following is declared to be a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to trunk locking mechanism, and its principal object is to provide a trunk locking mechanism of simon the outside of the trunk section containing the movable locking members. In these link or baroperated locking mechanisms, the internal locking devices depend entirely upon the links or bars to efiect their movements. In the present invention T employ a plurality of pivotally supported a gravity latches on one trunk section, cooperating keepers, and an operating bar on the other trunk section, which is arranged to be moved endwise by a lock hasp located on the outside of the trunk section supporting the op erating bar. a The gravity latches are an ranged to engage with the keepers on the trunk section supporting the operating bar when the ,trunk sections are brought to gether, and the bar is used partlcularly to hold the latches positively in engageinentwith the keepers and to disengage them there from to unlock the two sections of the trunk. The invention consists in the several novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, and particularly defined in theclaims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross sectionthrough a wardrobe trunk and showing my improved trunk locking mechanism applied thereto, in locked condition; Fig. 2 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, but illustrating the trunk in open, unlocked position; Fig, 3 is a side elevation of a fragment of the trunk and the lock hasp and socket, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one unit of the internal locking mechanism.

Referring to said drawing, the reference character5 designates a wardrobe trunk of ordinary, well known construction comprising two sections 6, 7, which are hinged together along one side and secured together along the other side by the locking mechanism which forms the subject matter of this invention. Adjacent to the upper end of the trunk is the main lock therefor, which coniprises the usual lock hasp 8 secured to the Wttll 7 of the section 7, and the cooperating socket member 9, secured to the wall 6 of the section 6. As usual, the lock hasp co1nprises two members 10, 11, hingedly secured together by a hinge connection 12, whereby the member 11 may be swung into engagement with the socket member 9 or swung out of engagemeiit therewith. The lock hasp is rotatively mounted on the wall 7 of section 7, whereby it may be swung from the horizontal position, seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, to that shown in the dotted llnes shown in 2, and a bolt or rivet 13, extending through the member 10 of the lock hasp and art and needs no further description so far as this specification is concerned.

'Tiocated on. the wall 6 of the trunk section 16, which supports the socket member 9 of the look, me gravity latches 14, which are conveniently secured to a supporting plate 15,

by bolts, screws or rivets 16, and straps 17,

secured to said supporting plates 15, andex' tending around the gravity latches 14, act as guides therefor and also limit the downward "and upward movement 01 the latches. The supporting plates are secured to the wall 6 of the trunk section 6 by belts or rivets 18. On the lower edges of the latches 141 are notches 19, and on the wall 7 of the trunk section 7 are keepers 20 that are provided with keeper lugs 21 that enter said notches 19 when the two trunk sections are brought together in closed position. The

keepers have plates 22 which are belted or riveted to the inner face of trunk section 7, 1 11 posltlon tor the notched gravlty latches to engage with the keeper lugs 21,

lower forward edges 23, of the gravity latches are inclined, whereby, when the two trunk sections are brought together, the forward end portions of the latches may engage the upper edges of the keeper lugs 21, and be .raised thereby, to bring the notches 19 over the lugs when the two trunk sections are in fullyclosed position.

Means are provided for positively holdlng said gravity latches in latched engagement with the keepers when the trunk is closed,

1 and as shown, said means comprise a vertically extending operating bar 24, slidably mounted in brackets or straps 25, that are secured to the inner face of the wall 7 of the trunk section 7. Said operating bar is provided with shoulders 26, 27, arranged in pairs and located on the operating bar in position to receive the latches between those of each pair whenever the two trunk sections are brought together. Said shoulders may be formed in any convenient manner and if desired may be struck up from the operating bar itself. The shoulders project forward from the operating bar and they are adapted to engage with the upper and lower edges of the latches whenever the two trunk sections are brought together.

Means are provided for reciprocating the operating bar 24:, from the lock hasp 8, and

any simplemeans for translating the rota- I tory movements of the lock hasp into reciprocatory or endwise movements of the operating bar may be employed. For this purtween itand the segment 13, which is held in position by the locked bar casing. To unlock the trunk sections, the lock hasp is un locked from the socket member, swung out therefrom on the hinge connection 12, and

then turned upon the axis of the bolt or pin 13, to a vertical position. The toothed segment is thereby given a partial rotation and the operatingbar is raised sufliciently to bring the shoulders 27 into engagement with the under sides of the latches and to raise the latches far enough to disengage them from keeper lugs 21 of the keepers 20. The two trunk sections may then be swung apart to gain'access to the interior of the trunk.

To look the trunk sections together, they are first brought together, the inclined edge portions 27, of the gravity latches encountering the keeper lugs 21, of the keepers and riding up thereon until the notches reach a position over said lugs. The upper edges of the shoulders 27, may be spaced far enough from the lower edges of the shoulders 26, to permit the latches to fall by gravity into latched engagement with the keep ers. The lock hasp is turned down into the horizontal position (shown in Fig. 1), thereby moving downward the operating bar 24;, and bringing the shoulders 26 thereof, down upon the upper edges of the latches. The lock of the lock hasp is then swung into the socket member thereby looking all of the parts together.

It is to be observed that the gravity latches are entirely free from the operating bar 21, when the trunk sections are swung apart and that they automatically drop into engagement with the keepers when the trunk sections are swung together. The working l edges of the notched portions of the latches and the lugs of the keepers may be inclined,

as is customary in latches, hooks, and so forth, to afl'ord a wedgelike action, whereby the two sections may be drawn tightly together, when the shoulders of the operating bar are brought down forcibly on the latches.

More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possible without departing from the spirit of this invention; I desire, .2

therefore, not to limit myself to the exact form of the construction shown and described, but intend, in the following claims, to point out all of the invention disclosed herein.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. Trunk locking mechanism comprising a socket member of a lock adapted to be mounted on the outside of one section of a trunk, a coiiperating lock hasp adapted to be rotatively mounted on the outside of a second section of said trunk, a plurality of latches adapted to be pivotally secured on the inside of the trunk section on which said socket member is mounted, a plurality of keepers adapted to be secured in the inside of the trunk section on which said lock hasp is mounted and cooperatin with said latches to secure the trunk sections together at a plurality of places, an endwise movable operating bar slidably mounted on the last mentioned trunk section and having shoulders arran ed to engage with the under sides of said latches when the trunk sections are together, to thereby disconnect the latches from said keepers whenever said operating bar is lifted, and an operative connection between said lock hasp and operating bar for translating the rotatory movements of the lock easing into reciprocatory movements of the operating bar.

2. Trunk locking mechanism comprising a socket member of a lock adapted to be mounted on the outside of one section of a trunk, a cooperating lock hasp adapted to be rotatively mounted on the outside of second section of said trunk, a plurality of gravity operated latches adapted to be pivotally secured on the inside of the trunk section on which said socket is mounted and having inclined lower edges at their free ends, a plurality of keepers adapted to be secured on the inside of the trunk section on which said lock casing is mounted, over which the said inclined edges of the latches ride when the trunk sections are brought together, said latches and keepers cooperating to secure the trunk sections together at a plurality of places, an endwise movable operating bar slidably mounted on the last mentioned trunk section and having shoulders arranged to engage with the under side of said latches when the trunk sections are together, to thereby disconnect said latches from said keepers whenever said operating bar is lifted, and an operative connection between said lock hasp and operating bar for translating the rotatory movements of said hasp into reciprocatory movements of the operating bar.

3. Trunk locking mechanism for ward robe trunks, comprising a socket member lo cated on the outside of one trunk section, a cooperating lock hasp rotatively mounted on the other trunk section, a plurality of gravity acting locking members pivotally secured on the inside of the first mentioned trunk section, coacting locking members fixedly secured on the second mentioned trunk sec tion, an endwise movable operating bar slidably mounted on the inside of the second mentioned trunk section and having shoulders thereon for engagement with said pivoted internal lockin members, said shoulders be ing disengagec from the pivoted internal locking members when the two trunk sections are swung apart, and operative connections between the lock hasp and operating bar.

4. Trunk locking mechanism for wardrobe trunks comprising a plurality of latches pivotally secured to the inside of one trunk section, a plurality of cooperating keepers fixedly secured to the inside of the other trunk section, an endwise movable, latch operating bar slida'bly mounted on the inside of the trunk section containing the keepers, said bar being movable toward and away from said latches, with the trunk sec- 1 tion upon which it is mounted, and lock controlled means on the outside oi the trunk for reciprocating said operatlng bar.

CHARLES o. snnnvnr. 

